This is Autoline Daily reporting on all aspects of the global automotive industry.

Before we kick off today’s show, we’d like to tell you about next week’s episode of Autoline After Hours. John will be talking to the team that helped develop the new Mustang Mach-E electric crossover. We’re shooting that show in LA and that means it won’t be live, so we’re taking your questions early. If there’s anything you’re wondering about the Mach-E, send it to us at viewermail@autoline.tv by Monday the 18th at 9AM West Coast time or 12PM Eastern. The show will still air at its normal 3PM Eastern time on Thursday the 21st.

MUSTANG MACH-E DETAILS LEAKBut if you can’t wait that long, someone at MachEForum.com was able to successfully guess the URL for the EV’s webpage, which has a ton of information about it. Autoblog has an article with the details and we’ll post a link for that in the transcript and the description box. While it looks legit, we can’t confirm if the info is correct, so take it with a grain of salt.

GM TO BUILD ELECTRIC HUMMER, SIERRA & ESCALADELast month, Reuters reported that GM is considering reviving Hummer as an all-electric brand and that the vehicles will be built at the company’s Detroit/Hamtramck plant. And now LMC Automotive is reporting that GM will build electric Hummer’s at the facility, along with electric versions of the GMC Sierra and Cadillac Escalade. GM will kick off production of an electric Hummer pickup and SUV in late 2021, while the electric Sierra and Escalade won’t start production until 2023. GM is investing $3 billion in the Detroit/Hamtramck plant which was part of the UAW deal.

UAW EXPECTED TO RATIFY FORD DEALAnd speaking of UAW contracts, union members are expected to ratify its new labor deal with Ford. Voting ends today and early indications point to workers accepting the four-year pact. If it does pass, that only leaves FCA left to bargain with. But those negotiations may not go as smoothly as they did with Ford, since FCA is at the heart of the union corruption scandal.

VW INVESTS BILLIONS INTO EV DEVELOPMENTVolkswagen has big plans to expand the number of electric vehicles throughout its brands and it will spend heavily to bring those cars to market. The company announced it will invest 60 billion euros or about $66 billion over the next five years, to develop electric and hybrid cars as well as digital technology. Around 33 billion euros will go towards pure electric vehicles, while the rest will be spent on hybrids and digital tech. By 2029, the VW Group plans to introduce 75 all-electric cars and 60 hybrids to the market.

CANADIAN EXPORTS TO EUROPE RISEWith vehicle sales slowing, Canada is starting to turn to Europe to offset the decline. WardsAuto reports that while Canadian auto exports to Europe are small, car sales to the EU were up nearly 90% last year, compared to 2017 and generated a little more than $630 million. Canadian cars going to the EU were subject to a 10% tariff, but that’s started to drop and over the next 7 year will be completely phased out. So, exports should continue to increase. We’ve seen a lot of cuts and consolidation to adjust for falling sales and to pay for EVs and AVs, but we’re also going to see expansion into untapped markets.

RENAULT CREATES NEW RENEWABLE MATERIALThere’s been a greater focus on renewable interior materials and Renault is the latest with a unique material. It’s made from seat belts, textile scraps and recycled plastic bottles and along with a new manufacturing process, reduces the carbon footprint by 60% compared to the standard process. The new material is used in the seat covers, dashboard, center console and door panels of the new Renault ZOE.

SANTA CRUZ WON’T BE A TRUE SMALL PICKUP
I saw a number of comments from people excited that a new small pickup truck was coming back to the market with the confirmation of the Hyundai Santa Cruz. I hope I’m not bursting too many bubbles here, but Hyundai has said previously that the Santa Cruz will fit into the mid-size truck segment. As we pointed out yesterday, it seems it will likely be a unit-body pickup, so it could be on the smaller size, like the Honda Ridgeline, but not a true small pickup. There’s been rumors that Ford will offer a small pickup truck, but so far it has not confirmed that.

QIANTU K50 EV SPOTTED IN WASHINGTON, D.C.
Here’s an interesting viewer submission. A friend of viewer Michael M spotted this car in downtown Washington, D.C. with California license plates. They’re curious what it could be. We recognized its shape right away. A quick search took us back to December of last year when we covered a vehicle called the Qiantu K50. China’s Qiantu Motors and California electric vehicle manufacturer Mullen Technologies are going to build and sell the K50 electric sports car in the U.S. They will import some components from China and use American sourced parts as well. It features an aluminum frame with carbon fiber body pieces laid over. Two electric motors produce just over 400-horsepower and the car can do 0 to 100 kilometers an hour in 4.6 seconds. A 78-kWh battery pack provides an estimated 236-miles of range. The K50 was scheduled to be launched in 2020 and the ‘on-street’ spotting could indicate they’re on track. The cars will be sold through Mullen’s distribution network.

Fleet sales used to be scorned by many automakers. It was unprofitable and not a sexy part of the business. Today it’s just the opposite. Fleet sales are profitable and are up strong, while retail sales are down. To learn how and why it changed, be sure to tune into Autoline This Week. You can watch it right now on our website, Autoline.tv or look for it on our YouTube channel.

But that’s it for today, thanks for watching and have a great weekend.

Thanks to our partner for embedding Autoline Daily on its website: WardsAuto.com

It’ll be interesting to see how many (if any) ICE Hummer detractors would actually buy an electric one. I think it’s a very good idea to take what is arguably the most denigrated lightning rod of an ICE vehicle ever and make it ‘green’.

Well, Sean I watched the AAH from yesterday and now realize the vehicles are CT scanned (computed Tomography) not using MRI technology which makes more sense. Great show!

I still think Ford should have used Thunderbird-e instead of the Mustang Mach-e. At least they could market the suv as bringing the lighting and the thunder. Actually though I’m not a fan of them using any of the old names but I’m not in marketing.

GM to build EV trucks and Hummers, Makes sense since they have huge profits on those vehicles and can possibly offer them without losing money on each one. So will they cut into their profit margin to move them or mark them up even further?

The Santa Cuz concept appeared to originally be built from the Tucson’s hardware. The fact that it will be assembled at the plant that builds the Santa Fa, would suggest that it may be on its platform and not the Tucson’s. While the Santa Fa is a size up from the Tucson, its still a size smaller the the Pilot/Passport that the Ridgeline is taken from. So, in my mind at least, it seems that it may be more of a compact pickup, then the mid size truck then the Ridgeline, Ranger and others vehicles using that designation tend to be.

3 Huge electric trucks will need huge batteries, if they are to have much range. A Hummer H2 weighed 6600 pounds, and is shaped like a really big brick, so it will need ~200 kWh of battery, to have maybe 250-300 mile range. Batteries are getting cheaper, but are still almost $200/kWh, so that 250 mile Hummer will have $40K of battery, without the actual packaging of the battery cells.

I think they should just use Ford Mach-E for their Tesla Y competitor. It is not a Mustang or a Thunderbird, and doesn’t remotely resemble either.

4 It should be narrower than the Ridgeline, but length will depend upon what body style they use. I hope they do something similar to the concept, rather than a “crew cab,” like Ridgeline, and most of these so-call mid size trucks, that are 210-215 inch long, about like a Lincoln Town Car.

The Mustang community is not too pleased with the latest Ford marketing fiasco which is laying the Mustang name on the Mach E. Just look at the various websites for proof. If this humpback car is a disaster in the market place, it will tarnish the iconic Mustang brand for years. Good suggestions for re-naming this EV include Thunderbird, Cougar, or E-Hackett. the pricing is surely premium.

I looked through a couple Mustang forums, and they were entertaining. Some posters liked what the E-car might be, but almost no one liked using the Mustang name for something that is clearly not a Mustang.

The absurdity of the Hummer H2 was the point of the exercise. An EV one would work for the same reason, IMO. (Disclaimer: My son-in-law owns an H2 and seems oblivious to it’s absurdity. Loves the damned thing for some reason.)

There seems to be a lot of hate for the Hummer brand. I’m surprised that the H2 was that bad as it was built on the trailblazer platform I believe. Which granted those were 6000LB vehicles. Certainly GM could build an EV version using lightweight materials. The real cool part of the version pictured on todays show is the half doors that look to access the bed. Makes me hopeful this might be a throwback to the old Blazer with a removable top and a rear bench seat that is also removable or better yet folds into the floor.
It would be nice to see this concept brought back with the option of EV or ICE powertrains.

I have no bad feelings towards the Hummer nor towards those believing they need one.
But I find it a scary thought to have one of these behemoths, loaded with batteries, coming behind me; Or when the driver is not paying attention because they place too much belief in all the many safety systems that fail way too often. Seeing a Hummer bumper in my rear view mirror scares me even more!

Lambo, I agree with you that GM could certainly create an all-new Hummer line that is not as heavy as the previous models, and that might provide more usable interior space. The H2 was based on the GM 2500 pickup frame because of its weight. The H3 and H3 Pickup were based on the Colorado frame (or platform). Not sure what they would use for an all-new model, but I would guess they would want to save money by using something that already exists in the GM portfolio.

Using the Mustang name on Ford’s new EV will ultimately prove to be a marketing mistake (my prediction). This vehicle does not have any of the Mustang brand hallmarks other than headlights and taillights. It has no V8 or exhaust rumble, no long hood-short rear deck styling, no shifter. But it does have four doors, a huge battery, an electric motor and offers AWD. I’m not sure why Ford marketers think the public will think of this as the second member of the Mustang family. I assume that the naming strategy discussions were long and pervasive. I guess they should have done some man-on-the-street research. Perhaps it will just be the Mach-E in its second model year!

15 I found the H2 (and the handful of H1s) exceptionally disgusting, because of the front bumper at about chest level of occupants in cars. You would be better off to be T-boned by a semi, than by an H2, if in a light weight car.

One aspect of fleet sales that Ford seems to have gone all out for, is the police truck market, and it appears to be working. It seems that there are no new police cars in my area, just Explorers, or whatever they are, except most highway patrol vehicles still seem to be Chargers.

19 Do Nissans have extra bad paint, or do people who own them in Florida just garage them a lot less than other cars? A much higher percentage of Nissans I see have paint falling off, than any other brand of car.

The new plant will be conveniently located near the brand-new airport serving Berlin-Brandenburg (that’s the official name of the state). My last stay in Berlin was in the last millenium (99), before even the Euro, and I used the Tegel airport (there was also Tempelhof but I never used it). B-B gave Musk $115 mill (100 mill euros) in incentives to build his plant there.

Tesla and Berlin: I thought Germany was an ideal location and Berlin, with its nonexistent car industry, an even better one, and this article further reinforces my point. Berlin being the IT capital of Germany and Tesla being a tech as well as an auto company.

Re the Mustang E, saw a photo of the grille, the color was not the best either, a pinkish red, and could not believe how bad it looked. There was no Ford logo (intentionally?) and the horse was not a chrome one, but a cheap painted on one that did not look good.

The ‘car’ has a lot going for it, but the grille (not grill! You barbecue on grills) is not its strong point.

The Model 3 could also use a refresh to put a face on its grille which at this point is bare sheetmetal. At least put a large stylized “T” on it!

Ford still has time to re-think the name, and do some styling fixes on their Model Y fighter. From their leaked info, the pricing seems competitive. If it is any good, it should sell reasonably well. The Y will have a big advantage for road trips, though, with the charger network.

19 Fleet sales were never profitable for any serious amount of time. IN today’s environment where many don’t even rent cars and prefer ubers instead when on business trips, their future sales are an even bigger question mark. Not that Nissan does anything right, but selling its junk at deep discount to fleets was tried and it did not work, so they were right to curtail these sales.

Unless consumers in the US have gone completely nuts, I just don’t believe that those (specifically!) who are willing to try an EV would want an … EV Hummer or even an EV Sierra, or even an EV “MUstang” that is not a Mustang but a stupid crossover.

31 It seems they priced this reasonably for a Ferrari and what it offers.

“It is powered by a 612-hp (620 cv), 3.9-liter, V-8 mid-front mounted engine, coupled with an 8-speed dual clutch gearbox…Its starting price will be at the lower end of the company’s price range at just over 200,000 euros ($220,463)”

As a longtime Mustang owner I am wondering how out of touch Ford management has become. Initially considering the Mach1 name for the BEV project until a firestorm of negative online and social media comments killed that. Now look at all of the negative feedback, not just on the hardcore Mustang sites, but mainstream social media about this vehicle. It seems like an unnecessary distraction from a new vehicle launch.

34 As a non-Mustang owner, except for a “beater” 1972 for a few months, I just don’t understand calling this electric hunchback a Mustang. It may be a good vehicle (or may not be), but either way, it is not a Mustang. Calling it Model T would make more sense than calling it Mustang, but, of course, that would make no sense either.

11: About 1970, I worked on a Mustang prototype that was based on the Maverick, which was in turn based on the Falcon. Instead, Ford decided to go with the Pinto platform. The Maverick based Mustang would have taken it back to its original size, more or less.

I just thought this up. The name Pony-E makes more sense to me and alludes to the Mustang without calling it one. But I guess it really doesn’t roll off your tongue either. My marketing suggestion to Ford: “With its roots in performance and continuing in that vein, the Pony Car of electrics, we proudly introduce the Ford Pony-E”. Not brilliant, but neither is Ford’s current direction.

38 I suspect the Mustang Mach-E will work just fine, maybe as well as a Tesla Y, but I don’t think it should be called a Mustang, as I don’t think a Chevy Bolt should have been called a Camaro, even if it was quicker than its 6.5 sec 0-60 time. Maybe FCA should make an electric Dodge Journey, and call it Challenger-E

35 Ford should actually call it the “Model E”. Musk originally wanted to call his model 3 the above, so the four Tesla models would spell ” S E X Y “, and it waas Ford Lawyers who vetoed it, apparently they have some copyright on the letter E.

I think Model E would work for Tesla but not for the S-E-X-Y reference but just the uniformity of the usage of letters. As for Ford using it, I think that that train has already left the station. Ford’s two hits of the “T” and “A” are ancient and are arguably already overshadowed by Tesla’s “S”,”X” and upcoming “Y” at least contemporarilly speaking.

44 I know for a fact, Musk said it himself, in explaining the names of Tesla models, that he wanted the first four to spell ” S E X Y “.

In addition, “E” stands for Electric and makes it clearly understood it is a BEV.

It is a far more appropriate name for the Ford EV than any fake Mustang reference. I would use it only if this was a SERIOUS effort, not some halfass compliance BEV, but a Model E that would have the same effect as the Model T had 100 years ago, ie, an Affordable, cheap BEV that was competent for all uses.

If I were an old automaker like Ford, and went into Electrics, I would not call them Fords or Lincolns, but establish a separate division to make and sell them. Buyers of BEVs do not want to have to explain that their vehicle is a clean pure Electric.

For example, not that I would ever buy a Jag, given its shoddy quality and its abandonment of luxury interiors, I was never 100% sure what the hell an i-pace is. Why would it necessarily be electric? Because i is for current? So what, and V is for Voltage, A for Amperes, F for Faraday and M for Maxwell. STUPID name, and as the automaker is not even close to 100% BEV like Tesla, the questions will linger.

48 From articles I’ve seen, there will be multiple rear drive and 4wd versions of the Ford thing, which will cover the range of Model 3, and likely Model Y versions. We shall see. As far as ride quality and NVH, it wouldn’t take much to beat the Model 3, from most of what I’ve read.

I agree that the i-pace name makes no sense. By now, I suspect most “car people” know what it is, but still, the name makes no sense. The i-pace is pricey, ~$70K base, but by most accounts it is quiet, rides decently, and handles well, for a tall wagon. Also, it is quick, 4.3 seconds 0-60 in CR’s tests, and probably quicker in other tests. The competition is tough, though, at that price point.

49 lol whenever a car has poor handling and driving dynamics (a field in which BMW and Tesla excel, and driving enthusiasts value), people answer instead by touting their alleged poor NVH and… “ride”. Really? Every Tesla has a fine ride, are BEV and thus practically silent, and outstanding driving dynamics. They are not 95 ” wheelbase Chevy Sparks, you know.

The market segment that used to appreciate the alleged “ride” of US made large cars (still with small wheelbases, very soft and inaccurate steering etc) has long since entered nursing homes or passed away, in both cases they are not in the market for any car.

50 Read some reports. The Model 3 does not have a “fine ride.” Also, there is more to noise than engine exhaust and vibration from under the hood. It’s road and wind noise, areas where the Model 3 is not too great. Check Tesla forums, and CR and other magazine reports. There is a big aftermarket for better door seals for the Model 3.

Top Gear examines the Ferrari Roma in detail and they like it. The white exterior looks even less attractive to me than the silver-gray they originally gave the press. I could buy a Portofino Cabrio with same mechanicals for $5k less, it is worth sacrificing the two infant seats in the back.

But is “Roma” a proper name for a Ferrari? Portofino is a far better one, one gets an image of a classy resort, yachts, supercars, ‘the beautiful people’, while Roma is a mega-city of 5 million including the three gypsy girls-beggars that pester you at the Termini train station.

On that Hyundai small pickup: If its is priced $10,000s less than the offerings from Ford and GM, perhaps it will sell well. This is exactly what Hyundai-Kia are doing with their 3-row Crossovers the Kia Telluride and the Hyundai Palisade. They both way undercut the 3-row2 offerings from Ford and GM and probably from others too. If they price them higher, they will not sell.

Some info on the last production 2019 C7. The last C7 was made last Thursday, 11/14/19 and rolled down the line at 3:10pm. It was sold at auction for 2.7 million dollars with the proceeds going to charity.

@37 +++ I like the “Pony E”, but really it should be the Ford “Model E”, like “L D” says. But there is nothing wrong with using the ford name. Don’t we refer the ‘Ford Model T’, ‘Ford Model A’ or ‘Ford Mustang’ Yes, I am a long time Mustang owner and the Mach E is a terrible name. My two pennies.

52 Unless the Roma is quieter than the Portofino, I don’t see the point. I, too, like the silver/grey better than the white in the pictures, even though I sometimes buy white cars, like my Corvette. I especially like the front of the Roma better with a darker color.I liked the red interior of the white one, though.

56 I agree that Model E would be a good name for the electric Ford, if it is actually a good vehicle. If it turns out to be unreliable and fire-prone, Pinto-E would be a better name. To me, Mach-E, and especially, “Mustang” anything are really silly names for that vehicle.

58, Daniel Snyder is listed as the purchaser (but Rick Hendrick) is also somehow in the mix. I couldn’t figure that out by reading the articles. The proceeds went to the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers foundation.

Guess I don’t have an opinion about what they call the new Ford. The Model E is as good as any. If Ford insists on using the Mustang image and since they are asking for deposits, the name, “Pony Up”, may be fitting.

I wonder if employee discounts will apply. I’ll have to call. Anyone have an idea?

61 I’d be surprised if employee discouts are available early on. At least GM employee discounts usually aren’t available with new products. I haven’t checked about C8 Corvettes, but I wouldn’t expect employee pricing any time soon.

I like these proportions, but they sure are not those of an SUV, and it is quite short to be a crossover or even a minivan. The Wheelbase is long for the length, as it should be for decades both GM and Ford had huge cars with tiny wheelbases, including the 212 ” Crown Vic, whose WB was, ridiculously, smaller than even the above, and various Impalas, 200+” long and their Buick, Caddy and other clones.

Electrifying Delivery Fleets: Amazon’s order of 100,000 Rivian Delivery Vans and their charging infrastructure. Other companies BEV van orders. Do they know what they are doing? Have they done any serious planning?

67 The wheelbase is 4 inches longer than a Model 3, The “E” is 7 inches taller, an inch longer, and an inch wider than a 3, based on your numbers and CR’s numbers for the 3. I expect all of the dimensions of the Ford and Tesla Y to be very similar, except maybe the Y will be a few inches longer than the Ford.

68 I’ve reached my limit, so I can’t read the article. They’ll probably need to have their electric utilities install bigger service at their depots where they will charge them. I’d assume Amazon would know how much range to expect, and plan routes and charging time accordingly. Won’t Amazon use them for local deliveries, and charge them overnight? Maybe the article says.

Being a forum for all things automotive, has anyone gone to see the movie “Ford vs Ferrari” that came out over the weekend? I had too many things planned to hit the theater this weekend but I do see it has pretty good reviews. 8.3/10 on IMDb and 91% on Rotten Tomatoes.

72, I suppose most of us car enthusiasts know the story of Ford vs Ferarri, so hoping they didn’t ‘Hollywood’ it up too much and fictionalize the real happenings so others don’t get a movie that is merely based on a true story and get the info wrong.

73 Yeah I just wondered if they covered much of how Henry Ford the II tried to buy Ferrari and when that deal fell through he decided to try and beat them. Also if the story actually covered the 3rd Lola build that was bough by John Mecom and replaced the Ford engine with a Chevy for a few races. That story alone is pretty interesting and that car is still around today.

I think the fuss about the Mustang Model E naming is a bit inside baseball. Most consumers will not care one way or the other. If you put a question on Jeopardy about who builds the Mustang, there’s a non-zero chance a contestant would answer “Chevy”

Sure, the enthusiasts will cry about it. Just like the number of people who bemoan the death of manual transmissions, but in the end it’s not that big of a deal in the larger market.

@66 Looks like Ford can call it anything they want, just a bunch of marketing. I think if they use “Mustang”, why not throw in “Crossover” as well? Two poorly thought out decisions. So the Marketing Dept. seems to run the company.

@74 Lambo, My understanding is that Lee Iacocca was really the one to push the GT40 program and spend the $$, Henry II just let him do what he wanted. I would think at this time, Lee walked on water with the success of the Mustang. Will see it next week.

76 Most enthusiasts, and especially Mustang fans, think it is a really stupid name. I suspect even non-enthusiasts will feel that way. Maybe they are using that name, as they prepare to drop the real Mustang. The car might be pretty decent, though.